Mirror of Dreams
by Boriqua-chan
Summary: Restless during the night of the full moon, Katara decides to walk around. She finds an unkempt forest in the depths of the Fire Nation Palace. A mirror shows her her deepest dreams. /Rated for small cusses/


A silent wind swept over the island; it found its way through the open windows and into the Fire Nation Palace, making my hair swish back and forth with the air. It tickled my face and neck. I giggled lightly, watching as the turtleducks quacked. I threw in a piece of bread and they gobbled it up hungrily.

The full moon had made me restless, and so I had decided to come out to the turtleduck pond. While feeding the three turtleducks that were awake at this ungodly hour with me didn't make me the least bit tired, it did rid me of the jumpiness that always overcame on a full moon. At least I was doing _something_, _anything_. The thought alone brought more stillness to my body.

Still, I yearned to walk, to waterbend, to jump, to shriek, to laugh, to cartwheel—_anything_ but sit still. Yet, at least I was doing something; I could be twisting and turning in my bed at this moment, wishing to be outside where cold wind would calm my jumping nerves. At least the cold wind was doing something to keep me kind of still.

With a final deft throw of bread to the woken turtleducks, I pulled herself up from my sitting position. Time to walk, time to move—time to do something _other_ than sit like a stone. I felt like shouting out to the world—what over, I didn't know, but I felt like shouting a senseless "ah" into the midnight air, to let Yue know that I was there listening to the moon's irritating restlessness. But that would wake the rest of the Palace. The idea of a sleepless _Mai_ waking up and throwing knives at me wasn't a pleasant one, even if I could block them. I was restless and the full moon was out to feed my power; one wrong move, one accidental flick of the wrist, one too-powerful wave, and I could kill the woman by mistake. Then where would I be? It was rightfully doubted that Zuko would easily come over the fact that I had killed his ex-girlfriend. Plus, I didn't want blood on my hands, no matter how lifeless, dull, and emotionless the blood might be.

The thought of Zuko, however, shouting through his window—the same one that looked over the turtleduck pond—for me to shut up in all his shirtless beauty was almost irresistible. If I did remember correctly, Zuko didn't like sleeping with a shirt on of any kind.

I giggled, my restless mind wanting to do _something_. The click of my Southern Water Tribe shoes was the only sound to accompany me. The gAang had just gotten to the Fire Nation three hours ago, at ten, so I hadn't had enough time to change. I was in full Water Tribe gear: dress, sweats, braid, and loop-de-loops. I should really find out what the hell those things were called…

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't watch where I was going. As I passed, the open red halls of the Fire Nation Palace lost their color, dulling as if they hadn't had any upkeep. The gardens were out of control on this side of the Palace too; flower grew out of the stones at my feet, tree branches arched over my head, bush leaves poked at my clothed legs. Then, finally, the stones that paved the walkway crumbled into nothingness. I felt the difference immediately as the pebbles changed to dirt.

Something told me to get away, to go back, to warn Zuko and the others about this path… But I didn't; my curiosity was too great. Throwing caution to the wind, I felt completely free. A smile overtook my full brown lips; I lengthened my strides. I could feel the wet ground through her shoes, cool and comforting… How would it feel shoeless?

I dropped to the ground, smiling and giggling. Gods, how I hated the full moon—it had me giggling for no reason at all, wasting smiles, keeping me up at night with nothing to fill my time… But even as I thought this, I couldn't very well stop my giggling. They were escaping me too loud, too fast for me to be able to cut off my voice. I wasn't going to have a voice by this time tomorrow…or was it today? When did you start counting the day: midnight or when you wake up? I didn't feel the least bit tiered; in fact, I was bursting with the moon's energy. Did that mean that the day would start the next day?

So much thinking when I should be sleeping. Yue, why didn't you give me a boyfriend to spend the time of the full moon with? I giggled at my own idiocy—as if she would answer.

I stood, my shoes dangling in my hand.

Gods, was I right! The packed ground felt cooling on my feet. Under them, I could feel the water that was miles and miles underneath the earth. Should someone put a well here, they'd have water for decades. I could feel the life of little bugs in the earth, their blood pumping quickly through their veins. What color _was_ bug blood? I shrugged because I didn't know the answer and wasn't going to kill a poor little buggy just to find out. Under my feet, I could feel the roots of the trees and branches that surrounded me; I could feel them taking water from deep within the earth and drinking.

This must be how Toph manages to "see."

How come I could only do this during the full moon? This would be _so_ cool to have on a normal day. Through the earth's water, I could feel my own feet, warm and soft, on it. I wonder what it would be like to hear a lie right now. How would my underfoot waterbending react? Would I feel the heartbeat quicken? Only one way to find out…

"The world was never at war," I said aloud, feeling stupid. But that feeling washes away when I feel my heartbeat quicken just the slightest inch under the ground. I smile, this time for something useful, not for the feel of cold dirt. This is _awesome_!

I wonder… I took my fighting stance and focused on the water below my feet. With one graceful sweep of my fingers, a small stream of water, just an inch wide, appeared before me. _Awesome_!

I practiced this for a while longer, then remembered: I could only do this on a full moon, why was I practicing? Grinning with the triumphant feeling of gaining something new, I walked again, deeper into the unkempt side of the Palace. Was this even the Palace anymore?

With every step, a little voice inside me called, _Go back, this is bad, this is not good, go back!_ It surprised me how easy it was to ignore. I put my shoes back on when tree roots dug into my bare feet.

That was when I noticed how deep I had gone. I couldn't see the kempt part of the Fire Nation Palace anymore.

I turned back around to say one last goodbye to the new place I had found, only to be amazed.

Roots were everywhere, weaving in and out of the ground like snakes. They pulsed with life. Tuffs of green grass, bright in the strikingly orange light, were scattered around the ground. How long had I been out here? The bright yellow light that filtered through the green leaves of this semi-forest was the glow of the rising sun, not the shine of the gray moon. What time was it…?

I gasped; my heart beat faster. Brown roots twisted up into the air. It looked like they grew out of the ground; they throbbed with life. The roots were deep, chocolate brown and covered artfully in dirt. My jaw dropped slightly and I walked around the tall roots. The closer I got, the more I realized that they _weren't_ just roots—they were connected, in the shape of a mirror.

It was beautiful.

I walked to it. It reflected my face, brown skin with jaw wide and blue eyes, back at me. The mirror erupted with life; I could feel the water inside it pump through. I stared with wide eyes, swallowing. How did this get here? Why was it living? Why had no one found it before?

I fell before it, its beauty too much for me to take standing. I reached out to touch the living branches. They shocked me, making me take my hands away. Then the glass of the mirror flexed, seeming more like plastic than glass. It solidified and I was staring at myself again.

But I wasn't myself.

I was older, my cheeks more defined. My blue eyes stared at me from an older face. A small smile lifted my older self's cheeks. I stared, flabbergasted. I was dressed in a white Fire Nation-style dress, instead of my Water Tribe outfit. A red sash knotted under my bust and my hair was artfully messy, wavy with the humidity of the forest. A red necklace was tied around my neck; it had the same blue pendant that was on my mother's, which I wore now. My older self was watching me, her expression unreadable.

Then she lifted her head as if someone had called her. A smile exploded my older self's face; joy lit her features beatifically. For a while, she ignored me while she watched someone else. Then the person came into my view.

It was a Fire Nation man. He was dressed in a silk vest. Dragons decorated the valuable cloth. His red pants were quickly out of my view as he sat them behind her, making himself comfortable. His hair was dark and long, reaching just past his shoulders. Some of its shorter pieces dangled in front of his face. Another part of it was lifted to accommodate the crown he wore.

I didn't have to look at his hair to know who he was. Even if his scar was partly hidden from me, I'd know his face anywhere. It, too, was older. He was beautiful. His thick pale lips were uplifted into a handsome smile; it lit up his face wonderfully.

I stared breathlessly. Gods, he was amazing…

He bent down to my older self's smiling lips. Their lips shaped around each other; I saw my older self smile into Zuko's kiss as she ran a hand through his beautiful hair. She grinned at him, and Zuko returned the grin. Their faces were alight.

I felt a pang of jealousy. Why couldn't I do that? Why could _she_? I sighed longingly, feeling stupid as I remembered that we were the same person.

My older self turned away from older Zuko to look at me, a breathless smile on her face. Older Zuko's golden eyes stayed fixated on my older self's face. Love colored his eyes, making them brighter than I'd ever thought possible. My older self's right hand grasped at the red necklace while her left one lifted to me; I did the same. My fingers felt slick against the mirror's glass. It was _Zuko_ who'd given her that necklace.

I felt the mirror flex under my fingers after a while and I swore I could fell my older self's fingers against mine.

I gasped lightly, my lips falling slack in shock. Older Zuko's lips fell onto older me's hair, kissing her head. I swallowed.

"Katara!"

I jumped, my eyes darting automatically to older Zuko's face. It was Zuko who'd called me, but not the Zuko in the mirror. I was too deep into the mirror's trance to answer back.

"Katara!" This time, he hadn't called my name to look for me, but rather in relief that he'd found me.

I watched as my older self's eyes darted to the real Zuko behind me and a smile, just as loving as the one she'd given her Zuko, lit her face. I felt the real Zuko run to me, and take a seat beside me.

I swallowed, trying to regain control of my voice. The mirror's image blurred, like when you drop a pebble into water. Then it came back, its colors brighter than ever. "You…you see that too, don't you?" I asked him, keeping my voice from cracking just barely. I didn't look at him.

Zuko's voice was a bit embarrassed as he answered, "Yes." I felt myself sigh, knowing that I wasn't crazy. "It's called the Mirror of Dreams. It shows your deepest desires."

I felt heat rush to my cheeks. Now he'd know. "Um…" I tried to say something, anything, to rid the moment of my embarrassment.

"Usually, if another person comes to the mirror with you, the images changes to fit both people's dreams," Zuko's deep, beautiful voice continued. I tried not to lose myself in it, to pay attention to his words. It was easy; everything he said was interesting. "But, if the people share the same desires…" Zuko's strong arms wrapped around my shoulders; older Zuko did the same to older me. "If the people share the same desires," he echoed himself, "it stays the same."

It had stayed the same.

I turned from the beautiful image of our older selves to Zuko. His face, surrounded by his stunning shaggy hair, was beautiful. I watched his gorgeous golden eyes as his face lifted with a smile. His lips came to the crown of my head, kissing it. It felt superb. I smiled. Zuko pulled away and smiled at me, his honey-colored eyes bright. Then he looked over at the image of our older selves.

"I promise you, one of these days, that _will_ be us," he told me.

"It _is_ us," I reminded him.

Zuko laughed. His lips came down on mine, gently and lovingly. Our lips moved in sync. His tongue, warm and wonderful, traced the outline of my lips; I gasped lightly at the astonishing sensation and he warmly thrust his in my mouth. He massaged mine with tender love. I moaned innocently at the sensation, gaining more nerve as he continued to dance with my tongue. I joined him.

Eventually, though, we had to breathe. There was a smile on both our faces. Our foreheads were resting on each other's. "I love the Mirror of Dreams," I told him finally.

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><p><strong>This was inspired by an amazing fanart by Technoelfie called Mirror of Dreams. It is beautiful. <strong>

**http : / sasusakuzutara . deviantart . com / favouries / # / dtggmh -That's it.**

**R&R!**


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